Disabliity Benefits

The Social Security Administration will consider your medical condition to be disabling if it is bad enough to prevent you from being able to work. You may suffer from more than one medical condition. SSA will consider the combination of your medical conditions when determining whether you are disabled.

SSA first decides whether your medical condition is severe. A medical condition is severe according to SSA when it significantly limits an individual’s physical or mental abilities to do basic work activities. It is quite easy to prove your medical condition is severe because you only have to show it causes you some limitation in your ability to perform work. Examples of how your condition may limit you include, but are not limited to: the amount of time you can stand, the amount of weight you can lift, the amount of bending you can do, your ability to work with others, your ability to stay on task.

There are two different ways you can prove your medical condition is a disabling medical condition:

1. SSA’s Listing of Impairments: First, SSA has what they call a Listing of Impairments. Some medical conditions are considered disabling if they meet certain criteria in the Listing of Impairments. This means that individuals will automatically qualify for benefits if they can show their condition meets these specific criteria. The Listing of Impairments covers many medical conditions. It contains medical terminology, which an experienced lawyer can help you understand in order to determine whether your medical condition may meet one of the listed impairments. See SSA’s Listings of Impairments…
2. Unable to Work: The second way you can be found disabled by your medical condition is by proving that it prevents you from working. You must prove your medical condition prevents you from performing the work you did in the past 15 years as well as all work in the national economy. If SSA finds you cannot perform your past work or any other work, you will be found disabled.For a physical medical condition, SSA will primarily focus on how long you can sit, stand, walk, and how much weight you can lift to determine whether you are disabled. If you are under 50 years old, you must prove that you cannot physically perform a job requiring you to can sit all day and to lift 5 pounds. If you are under age 50, you must prove there is no work you are physically and/or mentally able to perform. There are special rules for those age 50 and age 55. For a mental condition, SSA will determine whether you can make it through a normal workday or workweek and perform all the necessary functions of work without too many interruptions from your medical conditions. Our website lists some medical conditions that are more common. However, this is not an exhaustive list. If you believe you have a disabling medical condition, contact our office for an in-person consultation with a long term disability attorney.